The suspects opened fire after refusing to surrender to a
special-forces unit that located them in the countryside, the
Astana-based prosecutor’s office said today in a statement. One
officer was wounded in the attack.

Kazakh security forces suspect the extremists were involved
in a bomb blast in the Almaty region in July 11. The authorities
are identifying the bodies, according to the statement.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev last month said the
population of Kazakhstan, the second-largest former Soviet
republic, is growing “angry” at law enforcement for failing to
keep extremists in check.

“Radical elements are exerting severe pressure on the
state and society as a whole,” Nazarbayev said.